850 Turbo Radiator Replacement

[AlvinL]

I did this job yesterday following Bay 13's method.

http://volvospeed.com/Repair/Radiator850turbo.php

It went along well but I would like to share a few tips that might help the job along. For the turbo models, the radiator and intercooler is removed together whereas the NA models do not have the intercooler.

This write up is mainly for the turbo model but much of the post will also work for the non turbo, and the S/V/C 70. The change out is best done with the car up on ramps, cause the radiator will be dropped out the bottom of the car. Start by draining the coolant from the car using the petcock on the bottom of the radiator on the left side of the car.

A 6mm Allen key through the opening in the air dam and through the center of the petcock to loosen and drain the coolant. An empty coolant gallon jug (4.5L) was perfect. This is assuming you have a genuine Volvo radiator. I planned on reusing the coolant as it is still in good condition and a new water pump and timing belt change was coming up. If you have an aftermarket radiator you will need to remove the air dam to get to the drain screw or to remove the lower coolant hose to drain.

There are several items that need to be disconnect at the top of the radiator so that it will drop out the bottom. When it drops out the bottom the intercooler will come with it. The condensor (in the front) will stay in place, don't try to drop it down with the radiator and the intercooler. So up top you need to disconnect the coolant hose from the top. Disconnect the transmission cooling line on the left side and the oil cooling line on the right. Remove the intercooler hose thats on the center top. There are a couple of bolts that hold the plastic housing to the radiator that have to be removed. The red arrows are pointing to 10mm bolts that have to be removed. Just below the 10mm bolts are smaller 8mm bolts that also need to be removed.

The radiator top can now be pushed out enough so the electronics there can be lifted out clearing the way for the top intercooler hose to be removed.

From the front of the car, look between the headlight and the condensor, you will see two 10mm bolts, you need to remove the top bolt only. I use 1/4 inch drive, with a swivel 10mm and a six inch extension. I also put some "dumb dumb" on the socket so when the 10mm bolt is out it doesn't fall down into a place where you will never find it. The above picture is the right side of the car.

You can see how tight it is to remove these two screws. Here's a tip to make it easier. From below, loosen the radiator mounting bolts (12mm bolts). This will allow the radiator top to be pushed farther back to reach in with your 10mm socket on a swivel.

Moving down to the bottom there are a few Items that need to be removed. Note the red arrow pointing to the pet cock drain for the coolant. The green arrow is pointing to the bottom 10mm bolt that has to be removed [r](one on each side) [/r]. The coolant hose needs to come off, the intercooler hose needs to be removed and once those are moved, you can disconnect the bottom transmission cooling line. When you disconnect these various line, they are going to leak, once the major flow stops, just wrap them up with a rag and set them out of the way the best you can.

The new genuine Volvo radiator comes with rubber dust caps. Use these to cap the connectors from draining the oils in the radiator when the lines are disconnected.

The bottom right of the set up only has the oil cooling line to be disconnected. Once all the above is done there are two bolts left holding the radiator to the frame of the car. The bolts are 12 or 13mm I can't remember [r](12 mm} [/r] make sure you are holding the radiator when you take those last two bolts out, cause the radiator and condensor are now free to drop out the bottom. Working those items down might require a little moving right then left, and moving a harnes but it will come down without too much trouble. If the condensor in the front wants to also come down, you might want to use a bungie cord to hold it in place and keep stress off the A/C lines. I don't have a picture but you now have the radiator and the intercooler in your hand and should be able to figure out the intercooler is connected to the radiator. There are some clips you will have to transfer to the new radiator from the old one. The slide or the metal fin that is connected to the intercooler bolts to the radiator, sometimes the clips that hold the slide in place break. If you swap the sides they are on you can make it work.

Before removing the two 12mm bolts, I used two lengths of wire to loop through the upper mounting holes (vacated by the 10mm bolts) to tie and hold the condensor up. You can now remove the bolts. If the radiator doesn't drop, go back up top and you'll notice the neck of the intercooler intake is caught on the fan housing. When you clear this jam, the radiator and intercooler will drop so you'll want to help it down. The intercooler, clips and mounting brackets can now be transferred over to the new radiator.

When lifting the radiator into place from below, if you don't have a helper, it helps to have one of those ratcheting car stands to hold the assembly up for reinstalling the 12mm long bolts. Check first the fan housing lower tabs fit back into the radiator when you lift it up and now you can put the bolts back on with only a few turns so you can go back up top and front to reinstall the intercooler hose, electronics and oil lines. It is much easier to install the clips on the oil lines first before pushing onto the connection on the radiator. After everything is reconnected, you can now tighten up the 12mm bolts from below. I also used anti-sieze on all the machine screws when reinstalling. I plan to keep the car for a while. :)